Cost of winter/ice tyres killed it for me & why don't people help you when you fall?!

[GSol]

After falling twice in this past week trying to invent a new hybrid ice skating electric biking sport, I set out to purchase winter tyres. The cheapest set would set me back £80, and good (recommended) set well over that.

Is it just me, or does that severely kill off the cost saving benefit of cycling versus driving for short commutes? My little car can easily handle the thin ice, whereas with the Aurora, the high centre of mass just needs a slight off-balance skid and its a long way down from the big bike for the cyclist. My second fall was not pleasant and the first time I realised how important a helmet is! I honestly only recall landing on my knee and left hand and the bike sliding, but later I found scrapes and bruises all around my body, and most scarily, a huge gash on the top of my helmet! No idea how that could even have happened. And once again, nobody bothered to help me up (I was obviously struggling with an injured knee), just cars trying to get around me with drivers looking impatient and irritated.

Anyway, the commute with my car would be about £2 per day and £1 parking. That would take about 30 ice trips to pay back the tyres. Last year there were only about 12-15 days where it was iced like that. So it would take me 2 years to pay back that cost (possibly over simplified). Why are the bike winter tyres almost the same price as my car tyres? Is it just for the studs? The rubber can't be "that" much more expensive.

Maybe I'm just frustrated that I can't bend my knee for a while and thus cannot cycle and I need something to be angry about!

 

[OldBob1]

Hi sorry to hear about the fall, I wonder if any one makes a winter sock to go over bike tyres?
I will ask my brother in Canada if they do them over there?

Bob

 

[amigafan2003]

Why are the bike winter tyres almost the same price as my car tyres? Is it just for the studs? The rubber can't be "that" much more expensive.

Economy of scale - they just don't sell many winter spec bike tyres.

 

[flecc]

Why are the bike winter tyres almost the same price as my car tyres? Is it just for the studs? The rubber can't be "that" much more expensive.

Maybe I'm just frustrated that I can't bend my knee for a while and thus cannot cycle and I need something to be angry about!

Low demand tyres for any vehicle are made with considerable skilled hand input rather than mass production on specialised machinery, which makes them much more expensive.

I sympathise on the riding aspects on ice on bikes and motorbikes and have seen how impatient car drivers can be with unfortunates who have come off. Presumably if they have an accident and are trapped injured in their car, they'd be happy for a cyclist to just ride on by.

N.B. Post crossed with Amigafan's.

 

[Caph]

They are very expensive but they are also well worth it. You might as well go all out and get the ice spikers. They are very noisy but those 300+ spikes really do grip the road.

Sorry to hear of your fall, I know how painful they can be. It was absolutely treacherous one evening last week as the lying water froze when the temperature dropped below freezing. That was when I switched my tyres.

 

[103Alex1]

Really sorry to hear about your falls. Seem to have been a handful already now reported over the last month and coming off your bike is always a bit of a shock. Most places everyone always seems to have better things to do than help others these days. Except fellow cyclists on occasion !

It's worth considering that Winter tyres will likely last more than one season and think I read somewhere recently that Continental do a free replacement of Winter IIs in the case of a puncture if you want to take them up on it. On the car comparison cost analysis, one bonus is that you don't risk a parking PCN if you stay a few minutes too long in the shops.... one of those would likely take care of 2/3 or more of the cost of a set of Winter tyres some places .. Used to get a heap of them every year and now they can't touch me .

I relented and forked out for Continental Top Contact Winter II tyres from Ribble Cycles - they worked out about £80 after significant discounts, which seemed a shocking amount but so far (touch wood) they've seen me safely over a few bits of ice, no end of potholes and awful road surfaces ... and a downhill hill-sprint this afternoon at 30mph sustaining a very good grip when some hard-braking got called for rolleyes. With no studs and no punctures. Felt great being able to still pleasure-ride in December on a cold sunny day, come home with bike and bones intact and I've got over my indignence at the tyre bill. Just !

Most days you really don't need studded tyres in UK. If you've got a car for back-up just take that if the conditions are really treacherous and get a good set of non-studded Winter tyres for the remaining 2 1/2 months of the year they are likely to be needed.... and they'll cover you on any marginal days in Autumn or Spring too till you're safely out of the woods. Riding on studs on treated roads / clear patches of pavement or when it's not sheet ice on the ground isn't a good use of the tyres and they're likely to lose studs / wear quickly.

 

[eddieo]

have a look on German ebay (ebay.de) normally cheaper for bike accessories

here is one link...

Reifen Schläuche, Fahrradbeleuchtung Artikel im LXS-BIKE Shop bei eBay!

2 x Schwalbe winter rapid. 44€ + post. so about £36 + post

http://www.ebay.de/itm/2-x-Schwalbe-WINTER-Draht-Reflex-28x1-35-700x35C-35-622-Reifen-Fahrrad-schwarz-/221133313340?pt=Sport_Radsport_Fahrradteile&hash=item337c92953c#ht_3095wt_909

 

[smudger1956]

Tyre manufacturers produce winter tyres all year round, production may increase as other parts of Europe approach winter, winter tyres have a higher production cost, as these tyres are regarded in some areas as a 'must have' they will retail at a premium price.(no change there then.....)
For those of you who have recently fitted winter tyres to your car, or any tyre, you can find out when they were made by looking on the sidewall close to the bead, you will see 3 digits, for example 271, that means the tyre was made in the 27th production week of 2011, or for example 382 = 38th production week of 2012.
That ends my Tyre trivia for today.......

 

[greyhound_dog_1]

I can sympathise, I came off when cornering at 10 mph on ice, spained both wrists, snapped my brake lever, broke my gear shifter and my Cytronex motor needed new freewheel and roller bearing drive from the sheer impact, which I had done today - impressive and handy though, that I can get same day motor repairs at Cytronex! Just popped down this morning, did some shopping and picked up at lunchtime.

I have also just ordered a pair of winter tyres, probably the same as yours as they also came to an eye watering £80 (Marathon Winter). Hope you get on better with them. Getting colder in next few weeks so a good test.

Funnily enough, the car behind me also just slowed and went round me...'oh thanks very much' was what I muttered I think. Never mind.

You may ask why I was stupid enough to try and corner on ice at 10mph...basically it was quite mild and there was no ice until that point, so I really wasn't expecting it...it was a small pocket of cold air in a low lying area around the Thames that left black ice everywhere.

I'd suggest someone invent air bags for cyclists. You turn into a large zorb ball or something and roll down the road...

 

[RobF]

Funnily enough, the car behind me also just slowed and went round me...'oh thanks very much' was what I muttered I think. Never mind..

'Slowed and went round me' is a lot better than 'carried straight on and went over me'.

Of course, it would have been better still if he had stopped.

 

[Scimitar]

I'd suggest someone invent air bags for cyclists. You turn into a large zorb ball or something and roll down the road...

Almost that thing was on Stephen Fry's Gadget Show - the only episode I bothered watching.

 

[GaRRy]

I'd suggest someone invent air bags for cyclists. You turn into a large zorb ball or something and roll down the road...

here you go

Safety Sphere - Ultimate motorcycle airbag suit - YouTube

The Below one actually exists

The history of the Dainese airbag system - YouTube

If its good enough for a MotoGP rider I reckon it would be good enough for a Bicycle

 

[steveindenmark]

I can sympathise with you Gsol. I have come off in the snow and ice before. We get a lot of it in Denmark.

I have solved the problem for myself. I use a Kickbike both in the Summer and Winter. It does not set any landspeed records as I travel at about 13kph in the winter, But it gets me on the road without the risk of coming off.

I had a lovely 17km ride yesterday. Nice and sunny and -6 degrees.

I would like to put a hub motor on it, just for fun. Can someone give me some advice please?

Steve

 

[GSol]

Thanks for all the suggestions and I don't feel so alone in my frustration!
I reckon I would feel a bit better if I was trying something silly (and deserved to fall), but I was going straight uphill over a long bridge probably at only 5-8mph and trying to stay out of cars way, and just a random bit of ice (almost the entire rest of the way to work was defrosted from car heat on main roads) and bike just went sliding.
The worst part is lifting the heavy bike off the road alone after being dazed and waiting for the expected post-adrenalin pain to start. Only took a few seconds for the knee and then 10 minutes for the thumb and wrist.
Some awesome photos of Denmark... at first glance I thought that was an e-kickbike, with a bottle battery but then saw no motor...

 

[steveindenmark]

That is exactly what I am planning if someone on here will help me.

Steve

 

[Scimitar]

I would like to put a hub motor on it, just for fun. Can someone give me some advice please?

Steve

I saw just that, two years ago, on another place I frequent. A bloke in Finland put a hub motor in the front wheel, no problem. He uses a backpack battery for a range of 30km, iirc. I thought at the time it would be an excellent way of avoiding falling off, thinking back to kick scooters of my younger days, it was easy to control them and it would have been marvellous to have had power on one back then.

Addendum:
Here you go...
http://forum.mflenses.com/my-second-ebike-project-ekickbike-now-also-3rd-and-now-4-t26861.html

 

[RobF]

I was going straight uphill over a long bridge probably at only 5-8mph and trying to stay out of cars way, and just a random bit of ice ..

Bridges can be icy when the rest of the road is not, something to do with the air being able to circulate under the road surface.

Another place to look out for is shaded areas under trees.

 

[eddieo]

well if you value your own safety you need the right kit to venture out in snow and ice. Its approx £50 delivered for a pair of winter tyres

 

[Jeremy]

I saw just that, two years ago, on another place I frequent. A bloke in Finland put a hub motor in the front wheel, no problem. He uses a backpack battery for a range of 30km, iirc. I thought at the time it would be an excellent way of avoiding falling off, thinking back to kick scooters of my younger days, it was easy to control them and it would have been marvellous to have had power on one back then.

Addendum:
Here you go...
Log in

A couple of people on ES have added hub motors to kick bikes with good results. The only point to watch is the law where you live if you're thinking of doing this. Here in the UK an electric kick bike is, rather bizarrely, illegal for use on any road, path, area of publicly accessible land etc, unless registered as a motor vehicle..................

 

[RoadieRoger]

Sorry to hear of your falls . I was knocked off my Honda 90 in 1973 , the car driver overtook me at the entrance to a roundabout and cut across me and brought me down . I knew straight away by the ache I had broken my collarbone and he was driving off into the distance . He thought better of it , reversed back and said innocently,` has something happened ` to which I replied that yes he had just knocked me off . There was a busload of people in the opposite lane and I think he panicked .Well 40 years ago things were just the same , as when I was picking up my machine the cars were driving around me on either side . Still when I went to Court , the Magistrate preferred my side of the story and found for me .Straight away I engaged a Solicitor and his Insurance paid me £500 for pain and suffering .I was off work for a month and received my pay and the Boss of the Group suggested I reimburse my wages , I didn`t .
The end of this story is that with the money I bought a 1982 Suzuki Roadie 50 cc for £404 and I still ride it today . It is in lovely condition and of course it is now a Classic . People regularly want to buy it off me , but they will have to wait `til I pop my clogs !